Consumer Buying Behavior

The challenge for the marketing team is to identify which information sources are most influential in their target markets.

Since its foundation dating back in 1950s, the concept of brand image has become the crucial factor which decides the buying behaviour of consumers. Further with the emergence of fashion industry and globalisation brands have travelled across the countries border , companies are constantly working in providing good quality of goods and services in order to build a strong brand image which will guarantee them the consumer confidence and hence results in profit maximisation. So it is necessary to examine the ways in which consumers are influence by brand image which guides their buying behaviour. In this research, influence of brand image will be analysed in accordance with the

1. Using the tricomponent attitude model, compare the differences in attitude of consumers towards Kraft Foods versus their attitude towards Vegemite.

Armed with this information, you 're now in a position to evaluate facts and figures from franchise and business opportunity sellers.

The purchase stage is when the customer actually makes up his mind and purchases the product after information has been searched and several alternatives evaluated (Solomon et al 2010).

Consumer behaviour is the study of how individuals, groups and organizations select, buy, use and dispose of goods, services, ideas or experiences to satisfy their needs and wants. The emerging costumer trends play an important role in analysing the marketing opportunities. A consumer buying behaviour is influenced by cultural, social and personal factors. The consumer passes through five stages of the buying decision process: Problem Recognition, Information Search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase decision and post purchase behaviour. This model is important for anyone making marketing decision and customer pass through all stages in every purchase.

Promotion is defined by Merriam Webster as “the furtherance of the acceptance and sale of merchandise through advertising, publicity, or discounting”.

According to Aaker (1991), Kapferer (2004) and Keller (2003), “Building strong brands is one of the most important goals of product and brand management. Strong brands result in higher revenue streams, both short term and long term”. “Therefore, the stated goal of strategic brand management is to build brands that last for decades and can be leveraged in different product categories and markets” Aaker (1996). To understand how branding effects the purchasing decision of consumers, many theories emerged in which according to Aaker (1991) has framed a model called Brand equity model and Keller (1993) has identified a model called the customer based brand equity model. Both the frameworks have profoundly focused on how consumers recognize and appraise brands by studying certain information structures (Keller, 1993; Aaker, 1991, 1997).

2. Early on, researchers thought that consumers were logical problem solvers who objectively evaluated the goods and services available to them and selected those that gave them the highest utility at the lowest cost. Soon they realized that consumers were not always consciously aware of why they made the decisions they did.

Problem recognition – a consumer may have an actual problem or desire needing attention or may be guided to a created need via marketing.

Possibly the most challenging concept in the marketing is to deal with understanding the buyer behaviour. Consumer Buying Behaviour refers to the buying behaviour of the final customers, and households who buy goods and services for personal consumption. It is fascinating but different area to research and this is particularly relevant in the tourism field, where the decision to purchase by a consumer is of emotional significance.

Consumer behavior is considered as the mental and emotional process and the observing behavior of consumers during searching, purchasing and post consumption of a product or service. Consumer behavior involves study of what they buy, why they buy, how they buy, and when they buy (Gupta & Shallu, 2013). From various sources, the past experience and state of mind, the consumer may determine the impact that advertising has on him/her. In an effort to improve messaging and to gain the audience’s attention, advertisers create some special moments to resonate the mind of the target customer and motivate the audience to purchase the advertised product or service (Chakrabortty, Hossain, Azad, & Jakirul, 2013).

The process of consumer decision making has 3 stages: input stage, process stage and output stage.

During the early years after independence i.e. in 1950s, two wheelers were considered as a luxury good. In 1950s most of the people were dependent on agriculture for their earnings, sources of income were very few, due to which the disposable income with people was also low and only a few could afford two wheelers. Two wheelers were sometimes given as dowry in marriages and considered as a status symbol, since very few families were able to afford them. But now as the income levels have increased and people have easy access to credit and loan facilities, most people can a two wheeler. It is not considered as the luxury good anymore, it has rather become a necessity for some consumers who commute daily and look for economical options.

There are a lot of subjects for marketers to understand in order to get more customers purchasing their companies’ products or brands. Consumer buying behavior is one of the studies that marketers need to understand. Factors that influence consumer buying behavior can be classified into four classes which are social factor, cultural factor, personal factor and psychological factor.